US Army skydiver dies from Chicago air show injuries

He and a member of the Navy Leap Frogs jump team appeared to collide in the air after their teams performed a maneuver during a jump. He was sent to undergo surgery immediately after for his head injury.

“I was hoping to see the parachute guys today but I totally understand them canceling”, said Megan Bearder, of Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.

There was plenty to see for the thousands who lined the lakefront for the 57th annual Chicago Air and Water Show’s hot and steamy final day Sunday, for those who have never been to a show or those who come every year.

“The Golden Knights are an important connection between the Army and the American people”, Mark S. Davis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Marketing, which oversees the USAPT, said.

Hood had served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported.

Hood was a graduate of Lakota West High School in 2001, where he played football, according to Enquirer archives.

SFC Corey Hood. (U.S. Army Golden Knights) SFC Corey Hood. He is survived by his wife, Lyndsay.

Sergeant First Class Corey Hood.

“He took that mental toughness and he lived it”, Fetzer said.

“He would want us to know that however long that you’re here just give it everything you’ve got”, said Rhoades.

Spectator Heather Mendenhall told the Chicago Tribune on Saturday that she was watching the show from a rooftop and saw Hood strike the roof of a high-rise building next door with his feet and then fall – his parachute trailing behind him. “It was frightful”, the newspaper quoted her as saying.

The parachutist suffered a broken leg and landed on a nearby beach. Headliners include the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. He began jumping in 2010 and has recorded more than 500 freefall jumps.

It entails the parachutists falling with red smoke trailing from packs and then separating to create a colourful visual in the sky.